ARC Magazine - Volume 2 - Issue 2

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 vol. 2 - iss. 2

THE ASSOCIATION OF RELATED CHURCHES MAGAZINE

The Relationship Connection p16 / Waiting for ‘Yes’ p34 Creating a Sending Culture p26 / State of the ARC p6

ARC GLOBAL UPDATE

p20

/

EVENTS & RESOURCES

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ARC CELEBRATES

FIRS T WORD

ARC MAGA ZINE Volume 2 • Issue 2 • September 2017 The Official Publication of the Association of Related Churches

A NOTE FROM THE ARC TEAM

Don’t Do Ministry Alone

PUBLISHERS Shaun Ray Aly LaBorde

EDITOR Lindy Lowry

CONTRIBUTORS Wayne Francis Kevin Gerald Natalie Gillespie Carolyn Haas Will Johnson Dino Rizzo Stacy Smith Greg Surratt The ARC Launch Team

DE SIGN & L AYOU T -

relationships are everything: our relationship with God, our relationship with our spouses and our families, and our relationship with others on this journey with us. We simply are not meant to do life alone.

IN LIFE AND IN MINISTRY,

You may be a church planter that is just starting to build a launch team. You may be on staff at a church and learning how to work with others on your team. Or you may be a lead pastor looking for others you can learn from to take the next step in growing your church. No matter where you are, the people you surround yourself with are an important part of your growth. And you are an important part of theirs.

As you read through this issue, think about the relationships in your own life.

Are you an encourager to those around you? Are there encouragers in your own life? Are there people around you who believe in you and care enough to speak truth into your life? Do you have people you can go to when you need wise advice?

Don’t do ministry alone. At ARC, we place a high priority on helping you find people that you can do life with. We want to encourage you to place a high value on surrounding yourself with great relationships and be part of someone else’s great circle of relationships.

David Song

HOW TO REACH US Association of Related Churches 1201 Lee Branch Lane Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 981-4566 info@arcchurches.com arcchurches.com

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D I N O & D E LY N N R I Z Z O Executive Directors, ARC

CONTENT S

THE ARC MAGAZINE - VOL 2 - ISSUE 2 - SEPT 2017

COLUMNS

FE ATURES

p6

p16

State of the ARC

A family of families traveling together

by Greg Surratt p11

A Winning Playbook A detailed look at the four steps for planting with ARC by the ARC Launch Team p13

ARC Canada Shares God’s Heart First-ever conference renews a passion for the lost

by Stacy Smith and Will Johnson

DEPARTMENT S

p8

The Many Faces of ARC Meet the ARC family p 40

The Relationship Connection Are you qualifying the people in your inner circle?

by Kevin Gerald

p20

Coming Home For planters/pastors Josh and Kara Joines, going back to the place where they grew up wasn’t even on their radar. But God had much bigger plans for the couple—and the people who would find Christ in their new life-giving church.

Interview by Lindy Lowry

p26

Creating a Sending Culture in Your Church ARC pastors share what it takes to become a church that puts God’s Kingdom first.

by Natalie Gillespie

ARC Celebrates

Celebrating those within the ARC family impacting the Kingdom

p 34

p 42

Waiting for ‘Yes’

Discover tools and opportunities to connect with others, and help you launch and lead your church

Pastors Joe and Suzannah Driver share how their season of waiting to plant an ARC church was the “game changer” in their lives and their eventual launch.

by Natalie Gillespie

Events & Resources

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S TATE OF THE ARC

THE LATEST UPDATE FROM ARC

A Family of Families Traveling Together SIXTEEN YEARS AGO over

a round of golf, Billy Hornsby and I began to dream about what it might look like to have a life-giving church in every community. We set a God-sized goal of 2,000 churches, and in February 2001 we planted our first two churches: Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama, and New Life Church in Little Rock, Arkansas.

WHERE WE ARE

Since then, we’ve planted over 675 ARC churches. This year, from January through August, we have planted 61 churches nationwide, whose collective launch day attendance was more than 15,000 people. This is what’s really exciting: Of those 15,000 people, these new ARC churches saw more than 500 decisions for Christ.

This year, we will plant in excess of 120 churches. God is good.

675 NUMBER OF CHURCHES ARC HAS L AUNCHED T O D A T E , W O R L D W I D E *. (*as of August 31st)

These numbers are for U.S. ARC churches. Let me tell you about ARC Global.

About three years ago, our Lead Team got together and said, “You know what?

This might work around the world. Why don’t we see if we can find partners.”

As a result, we’ve created several international ARC networks, a group of pastors in a specific country that commits to pulling together a lead team from churches that agree to pool their resources and plant churches. We now have ARC networks in Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, and other countries (both established and coming soon that can’t be named for safety reasons.) We believe it’s a great big world with lots of communities that need life-giving churches.

Overall, approximately half a million people attend ARC churches and we continue to see churches grow each year. Some people call that revival! I hope you realize you’re part of something great that God is doing in the world!

WHERE WE ARE GOING

So we know where we’ve been and where we are currently. Where are we going?

Destinations are important, but I’ve learned that who takes the journey with you is almost equally important. That’s why we say don’t do ministry alone. ARC has always been about relationships. It’s the Association of Related Churches.

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100

%

PERCENTAGE OF PARTNER GI V IN G T H AT GOE S DIR E C T LY TO CHURCH PL ANTING.

STATE OF THE ARC

These days, I’m learning more and more about family. We have 14 grandkids, and they all live around us. Of course it didn’t start that way. Families begin with fairly simple structures—a dad, a mom, a kid or two. And then as families grow, the structure becomes more complex. You add grandparents, stepparents, exes, crazy uncles, aunts, and cousins. And you add more names. The other day I said to my granddaughter, “We’re all Surratts.” And she looked at me and said, “Well, we’re not. We’re Mayers.” I had to explain to her that her dad married my daughter, and that I’m proud they’re Mayers, but that we’re Surratts, too. In fact, we’re Surratts and Mayers, and Rays, and each generation will add more names. It’s okay for them to celebrate with, and be part of, more than one family. It’s normal and natural.

61 NUMBER OF CHURCHES ARC H A S L A U N C H E D I N 2 0 17 *. (*January through August)

To keep an expanding family healthy and connected, we rely on family rhythms— conversations, meals, vacations together, and large family reunions. You’ve probably already realized that as your family grows and kids get older, you have to become more intentional about family rhythms. The larger a family gets, the more names will be involved and the greater the likelihood that people will start to lose touch with each other.

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In ARC, our family started with a fairly simple structure. We were a few friends doing ministry together. In fact, ARC assessment, back in the day, was, “If Billy liked you, you’re good.”

As we’ve grown, our family structures have become more complex. Our family rhythms—conferences and meet-ups—play an even more important role in keeping us connected. And like my family, the larger we get, the more names will be involved.

We’ve become a family of families. That’s why our conferences feel like a large family reunion. The really cool thing about being part of ARC is that you don’t have to leave your tribe to be a part of ours. You can be a part of our tribe and be a part of your tribe, too. But the tribe is important. We want you to know you matter to us.

If you haven’t found a tribe yet, we want you to find one. It comes back to what I started with: Don’t do ministry alone. It’s as simple as that.

Together, we’re going to identify and develop more ways to stay connected and lean into each other. And together, we’re going to keep planting churches until every community is saturated with life-giving churches for the glory of God!

CONTINUED

PROJECTED NUMBER OF NEW CHURCHES & CAMPUSES ARC W I L L L A U N C H I N 2 0 17 *. (*September through December)

6M

$

GIVEN TO FUND NE W C H U R C H P L A N T S I N 2 0 17 *.

GREG SURR AT T

(*January through August)

President, ARC

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THE M ANY FACES OF ARC

GET TO KNOW THE ARC FAMILY

THE

Many Faces OF ARC

The ARC family consists of a growing network of churches and leaders from all around the globe. Each person brings significant value and something unique to the ARC family and body of Christ.

We believe in the strength of relationships and value each person’s wisdom and experience and we want to share that with you. Over the course of time, we want to show you a snapshot of the many

men and women who make up the ARC family through our new feature, “The Many Faces of ARC,” to encourage you, help you connect, and find other pastors and leaders who are just like you.

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THE MANY FACES OF ARC

CONTINUED

WHAT IS THE FUNNIES T THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU?

I was at a concert with my newlywed husband. After returning from the bathroom, I surprised him by sneaking up behind him. And after wedging my hands into his armpits and tickling him to my delight, he jumped into the air and turned around with a terrified look on his face … only, it wasn’t my husband! It was some random guy who looked like my husband! Realizing my mistake, I immediately started screaming (which only confused him more). And after a few horrifying moments, I just ran off. Needless to say, I don’t tickle-attack people anymore. And I hope this man never shows up at our church.

Haas CAROLYN

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GO BACK AND GIVE Y O U R S E L F 15 Y E A R S A G O ?

CO-LEAD PASTOR

Substance Church

SPRING LAKE PARK, MINNESOTA

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS

RELATIONAL ENCOURAGING PASSIONATE (feisty)

I’d tell myself: Give up on the idea that you can control your reputation.

Despite your best efforts, you will disappoint people and be misunderstood.

Criticism and relationship changes are par for the territory.

Jesus was perfect, yet He was constantly critiqued and accused. So, why do we think we could do better? Yet, rather than getting bitter, defensive, or hurt, Jesus responded with life. He allowed His Father to be His defender. And He spent enough time communing with God to allow His confidence to come not from His current platform, skillset, or season, but rather his intimacy with the Father.

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THE MANY FACES OF ARC

CONTINUED

WHAT MAK ES YOU SO INTERES TING AND UNIQUE?

I’m a guy that lives in New York and grew up in the Bronx; the son to Jamaican parents that were straight up-and-down as Jamaican as it gets.

Francis WAYNE

LEAD PASTOR

Authentic Church

WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS

EXTROVERTED CREATIVE A GREAT DANCER 10

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I grew up around a mixed batch of people in a really multi-cultural neighborhood, but started getting in trouble in high school running with the wrong guys. My dad was determined to make sure that my trajectory didn’t lead toward jail or death (the latter being either him killing me or the streets), so he used the address of a family friend who owned a pizza store in White Plains to get me into a different school where I finished my junior and senior years of high school.

White Plains reupholstered my life with its highly suburban context, and added to this weird binary story of mine. I’ve always been the malleable guy that feels comfortable everywhere after a stint of living in the Midwest, as well.

I consider myself a Jamerican or a Jafakin.

Kind of a big Oreo. Comfortable just loving and vibing with a diverse group of humans.

A Winning Playbook A DETAILED LOOK AT THE FOUR STEPS FOR PLANTING WITH ARC by the ARC Launch Team the local church is the hope of the world, and nothing communicates that vision better than the effort that goes into training and equipping future church planters. With that in mind, we have recently updated elements of the ARC Launch Process to better serve anyone interested in starting a church with ARC. AT ARC, WE BELIEVE

The ARC Launch Process has four steps: Apply, Train, Coach, and Launch. Let’s look at each step and hear from ARC staff and pastors involved along the way.

0 1.

A P P LY

ARC provides many free church-planting resources and testimonies at arcchurches.com, including a free training series called 8 Essentials of Church Planting by Chris Hodges, senior pastor of Church of the Highlands and one of ARC’s first church planters. After you begin to learn more about ARC through exploring our website and watching this series, your next step is to Apply. In this step, we’ll get to know more about you and your dream to start a church.

“One of my favorite parts of this step is watching the ‘Why ARC’ videos that pastors send to our review team,” says Amy Roberie, who works closely with church planters in this part of the process. “I always enjoy hearing the heart behind why pastors are choosing to go with ARC, as well as the exciting vision they have for their churches.”

02.

TR AIN

Once ARC leaders review your application to start a church with ARC, the next part of the process is training. This step includes two aspects: First is the online launch training material developed from detailed teaching by experienced pastors. This training covers the nuts and bolts of launching strong in the ARC model. Each teaching includes an outline, a comprehensive supplemental library, and assignments that you’ll complete in connection with your church plant, such as developing a marketing strategy and building a budget. These assignments are directly related to specific teachings in the process and are things you’ll need to complete in the process of launching your church. Completing all of these assignments ultimately equips you with an actual launch plan.

Next, you’ll attend an ARC Launch Intensive. This is a new part of the ARC Launch Process we introduced earlier this year. At this training, you’ll sit with your ARC coach and review your launch plan together. Your coach is there to give valuable insight for the journey ahead.

We have had some incredible feedback from both coaches and church planters who have been part of the Launch Intensive.

Josh Joines, ARC coach and pastor of Faith Family Church in Baytown, Texas (meet him and his wife, Kara, on page 20), shares: “We have had some incredible feedback from both coaches and church planters who over the years have been part of the Launch Intensive. Not only have we received proven strategies through ARC, we found a family that we really needed. Without ARC, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I know of no other church-planting network that provides the resources and relationships you’ll need to fulfill the dream that God has placed in your heart to plant a life-giving church.”

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03.

COACH

ARC believes strongly in relationship. We don’t want to just hand you a playbook without any guidance and then wish you luck as you run onto the field for the first time.

Our desire is to connect you with a coach that will help you run the plays to get your church off to a great start.

One of the benefits of our updated process is being connected with a coach at the ARC Launch Intensive.

This means that the leader who reviews your launch plan with you in Step 2 is the same coach who will answer your questions in the months leading up to your launch.

The relationship with your coach is an important one.

You’ll receive advice and encouragement from someone who has gone before you on this same path. Pradeepan Jeeva, who’s launching Kalos Church in Bellevue, Washington, says of his coach, “I feel bad for anyone who has planted without a coach. Without our coach, we would have made a lot of bad decisions. ARC connected us with a pastor who launched with 500 people and grew to over 2,000 in two years. Walking through the launch process with a recently proven and effective leader helped us emotionally, strategically, and in many ways we didn’t predict—not to mention, he let us ‘steal’ his graphics, curriculum and whatever we wanted.”

Jeremy Bosma, who launched Avenue Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, this February says the planter/coach relationship has been crucial. “My coach was instrumental in the beginning stages of putting together internet socials and training as we ran into launch. He even helped us transition from sprinting to launch day to a steady marathon. Because of our coach, we continued to see the success of a healthy church because we were healthy.”

This step also includes expanded online video training in your ARC Dashboard. In these videos, ARC coaches answer common questions, as well as teach on topics directly connected to your timeline leading up to your launch such as fundraising, putting together compelling interest gatherings, and creating a welcoming atmosphere on launch day.

#ARCCelebrates: The first launch of the Fall ‘17 season: Greater Church in Kennesaw, Georgia with Pastor Cheno Echevarria.

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One of the benefits of our updated process is being connected with a coach at the ARC Launch Intensive.

04.

L AUNCH

The final step of the ARC Launch Process may be the most exciting. In Step 4, you’ll move to your city and begin doing the work of planting your church. You’ll continue to interact with ARC as we help you track your milestones for funding and do our best to share your story with others.

“I love being part of church planters’ story at the important times in their lives,” says Marc Cleary, director of church planting for ARC. “The ARC church-planting process exists to help couples with a dream in their heart to reach their city with the Good News of Jesus. We’re not looking for perfect people, but rather for those who are eager to learn and are passionate to reach their city with a life-giving local church.”

ARC is on pace to plant more churches in 2017 than than any other year, and we’re doing our best to continue developing our training to accommodate this growth. We believe we’ve put together a world-class program for church planters and look forward to serving you when you’re ready to take the next step with us.

For more information about launching a life-giving church with ARC, visit arcchurches.com.

PHOTO

ARC Canada Shares God’s Heart FIRS T-E V ER CONFERENCE RENE WS A PASSION FOR THE LOST

by Stacy Smith and Will Johnson

ARC Global has seen strong development and now has six growing networks across the globe—driven by the belief that every community around the world deserves a life-giving church. After building their own national lead teams, contributing to their own church-planting funds, and implementing ARC training, each of ARC’s six global networks has started launching their own life-giving churches.

As one of the first networks to come online, ARC Canada has been on a path of rapid growth since their start. Recently, the network took a quantum leap forward and held its own conference for the first time since its inception, bringing together hundreds of Canadian pastors and church leaders to encourage and learn from each other. Hosted by Relate Church in the Vancouver area, the first-ever ARC Canada Conference (June 6-7) was a staunch reminder that God has called and equipped the local church to share His heart with His people.

“The conference left us with an awe-inspiring glimpse into God’s heart for Canada and how He desires to reach and touch a nation through the local church,” said Michael Smith, director of church planting for ARC Global.

Throughout the two-day event, leaders took in insightful teaching during the main sessions and app sessions, learning from Hillsong Church’s Brian Houston, Carey Nieuwhof, Gary Skinner, Mark Clark, and the ARC Canada Lead Team. The ARC U.S. Lead Team also showed their support, bringing in Pastors Matt Fry, Joe Champion, and Peter and Carolyn Haas.

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS,

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“The conference left us with an awe-inspiring glimpse into God’s heart for Canada and how He desires to reach and touch a nation through the local church.”

—MICHAEL SMITH

Especially powerful was a message from Pastor Brent Cantelon, part of the ARC Canada Lead Team. Focusing on the question “Why ARC?” Brent shared a powerful reminder of the importance of keeping a passion for the lost. Throughout the crowd, hands raised in surrender to what God desires to do through each person and ARC Canada as more life-giving churches are birthed throughout the country. The room roared with applause as men and women stood to their feet, reflecting on God’s love for their nation. Hands over hearts, these leaders joined their voices for the National Anthem, “O Canada.” The room resounded: “O Canada!/ … God keep our land, glorious and free/Oh, Canada/We stand on guard for thee!”

Throughout the two-day event, leaders made lasting connections as new friendships began (with contact info readily exchanged) and old friendships were renewed. Leaders encouraged leaders as they shared their experiences and challenges. On the last day of the gathering, many young couples stepped out for prayer, responding to the call of God in their life to plant a church in Canada. Feedback on the warmth and open-handed attitude confirmed the relational DNA of ARC is alive and well!

From the west coast of Vancouver Island to the most eastern shores of Newfoundland—ARC Canada is full of vision, passion, and anticipation for the future. Currently, ARC Canada has planted 10 churches and plans to plant four more this fall (with calls from potential planters coming in daily).

“The conference has already resulted in more churches that have caught the dream and are now partnering with ARC Canada to give ongoing financial support,” Michael says. “This support will position and resource ARC Canada to plant more churches across the nation.”

Plans for the second ARC Canada Conference (June 5-6, 2018) are already underway. Check out all the details at arcchurches.ca/events.

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The Relationship Connection ARE YOU QUALIFYING THE PEOPLE IN YOUR INNER CIRCLE?

by Kevin Gerald

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At the end of this season, we’ll be watching the AFC and NFC battle it out in what has become the most-watched professional sports event in America. For me, the final seconds of the Super Bowl are always good reminders of the importance of our choices and with whom we choose to do life. As the game clock winds down, the camera pans from one happy player on the winning team to another. Without exception, in the midst of their celebration these players acknowledge that they are there because they’re part of a winning team. Of course, across the field another group of players experience the pain of defeat.

I think of the team that works together for a successful plane flight. Numerous people are working together behind the scenes for a successful trip. The security team knows what to look for that could cause me harm. The pilots are competent, qualified, and trustworthy. The flight attendants are there to make the journey more comfortable. I’m surrounded by teams of people who help me get to where I want to go.

My life is happier, safer, and better because of them and their commitment to working together.

This is a lot like life! The people we align ourselves with can determine whether we win or lose. Relationships affect our lives and destiny.

FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!

GOD-ASSIGNED CONNECTIONS ARE IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW !

I think we could all agree that God didn’t intend for anyone to succeed alone. Specific relationships are essential to our God-planned destiny. The purpose of these God-assigned connections is to perpetuate, nurture, and complete God’s plan for our lives. Once you realize how vital your relationships are to your life and future, you’ll begin to see certain people as God-assigned connections. God is putting people in your life right now in five areas: Contacts: They network us.

Friends: They affirm us and are committed to us.

Partners: They share a common interest or goal.

Mentors: They produce change in us.

Protégés: They learn from us.

God sends great people into our lives. How we treat them determines whether or not they will stay. The more you accurately identify the “role” of people whom God has brought to you, the greater the potential and likelihood for relationship. When we get the roles right, we discover God’s purpose for each one and how those roles work together for our good. Failure to recognize these five roles and the people God has brought for each one can cause us to miss out on God’s vision or intention for our lives.

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RELATIONAL WISDOM FROM THE BIBLE Stay away from a foolish man, for you won’t find knowledge from his lips.

For example, when you find a mentor, are you content to be a student? Often, people will try to make a mentor their friend.

Recently, a pastor told me, “Kevin, I want you to know that you have mentored me from a distance.” He went on to explain that although we were not close friends and that I didn’t know him or socialize with him, he had learned from me. It was a great compliment. But perhaps we should give an even greater salute to him for recognizing that God puts people in our lives to fill various roles.

Mentors will not always be friends, and contacts will not always be partners. Sometimes people who are great friends decide to become business partners and as a result they not only have an unsuccessful business attempt, but they also mess up what God had intended as a lifelong friendship.

PROV. 14 :7

CHOOSING WHO INFLUENCES YOU

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

P RO V. 13 : 2 0

The more people you’re able to relate to, the more opportunities you create for God to enlarge His vision for your life.

That’s why it’s important to develop your ability to relate to a variety of people. Scripture repeatedly shows us that Jesus related well to many different kinds of people, while remaining selective with His inner circle. His contacts list included tax collectors, fishermen, government officials, wealthy people, common people, influential people, doctors, and religious leaders.

Make sure you don’t put all of your relational energy into one or two people. When this happens, the people involved end up with limited perspective and unhealthy attachments to each other.

Any relationship that causes or requires the exclusion of other relationships is unhealthy.

When you only hang out with one or two people excessively, you’ll fail to experience the value of others that God has put in your life.

Make it your goal to be friendly and courteous to everyone, but also make it your goal to choose who will and will not have influence in your life.

Failure to consciously choose will result in the wrong people’s influence on your life and ministry.

When you consciously choose, you “qualify” people for an influential role in your life. Some relatives, for example, are people who may have to be in your life but should not have influence over you. If your family is not going where you want to go in life, treat them with respect and be courteous, but

Bad company corrupts good character.

1 COR . 15 : 3 3

Do not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is immoral … with such a man do not even eat.

1 C O R . 5 : 11

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

P R O V. 2 7 :17

Two are better than one …

ECCL. 4:9

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don’t abandon your course and your goals to fit in with them. Some of the most likable people are not necessarily a positive influence on our lives. They may be fun or charming to be with, but they don’t encourage us in our faith or in our role as husbands, wives, and parents. For example, you might be able to learn something like a trade from them, but the minute they start to talk about a certain Scripture passage, you may have to remind yourself that even though he's a great carpenter, he has twisted perspective on the Bible.

You may need to reject their influence in other areas of your life. Your inner circle should be reserved for people you qualify. Below, I suggest some specific criteria: Reserve your inner circle for people who are committed to a biblical worldview. Meaning they govern their choices and behavior by the teachings of the Bible. Make sure that attending church is not just a religious thing they do, but rather, a lifestyle they live.

Remember, who we are affects whom we can have relationships with, which, in turn, affects who we are.

Reserve your inner circle for people who bring out the best in you. When my daughter, Jodi, was learning to play softball, I would pitch the ball where I knew she would swing the bat. People who help you get better prepare you to face pitching that comes from those who hope you don’t get a hit. Reserve your inner circle for those whose lives improve and empower you.

T WO ARE BET TER THAN ONE If you’ve ever worked in an office, my guess is that you’ve heard people (maybe you?) say things like, “I can get much more done by myself ” or, “I’m better off without other people.” The truth is: We can’t and we’re not—in both the office and in life!

For some people, thinking “agreement” is a total “reprogramming” of the mind. They have been programmed to disagree rather than to agree. In fact, they interpret agreement as a sign of

The more you accurately identify the ‘role’ of people whom God has brought to you, the greater the potential and likelihood for relationship. weakness. The truth is, however, that a soldier who seeks to live in agreement with his commanding officer is not weak. An employee who seeks to live in agreement with his employer is not weak. A husband isn’t weak because he seeks to live in agreement with his wife.

After leading multiple teams, I’ve learned that when it comes to working together, nothing is more important than an attitude of agreement. You can offer your co-workers many things (skills, knowledge, time), but nothing is more important than this kind of attitude. 1 Chronicles chapter 12 tells the story of when David was approached by a group of skilled and talented warriors who asked to be part of his army. Before David welcomed them, he needed to know they were with him in heart and spirit.

“If you come to me in peace and want to help me, then I will make an alliance with you” (1 Chron. 12:16).

Nothing these skilled warriors could offer was more important to David than an attitude of agreement.

Life’s greatest victories are reserved for those who live in harmony. The chairs you sit in, the bed you sleep in, and the car you drive have all been made as the result of a cooperative effort from people. One person can’t make even a pencil. The wood comes from a forest in the Northwest. The graphite comes from a mine in South America, and the eraser comes from a rubber plant in Malaysia. Thousands of people work together to make a pencil. Whether it’s in marriage, at church, or at work, you’ll always have opportunities to disagree. The key is to not look for those situations and if and when you notice them, don’t focus on them. Instead, pursue and live in agreement with each other because in the place of agreement, strength is multiplied. Two are better than one.

At ARC, one of the biggest things we say is that none of us should be doing ministry alone. Identify the relationships in your life so that you can determine which ones need to be cultivated and which ones need to be left behind. Some people are in your life for a season, some for a reason, and others for a lifetime.

Kevin Gerald is planter (with his wife, Sheila) and lead pastor of Champions Centre based in Tacoma and Bellevue, Washington, one of the largest congregations in the Pacific Northwest. He has also written multiple books, such as Developing Confidence, The Proving Ground, and Forces That Form Your Future. Connect with him on Twitter: @KevinGerald.

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Josh & Kara Joines:

Coming Home Interview by Lindy Lowry

FOR PLANTERS/PASTORS JOSH BACK TO THE PLACE WHERE EVEN ON THEIR RADAR. BUT PLANS FOR THE COUPLE—AND FIND CHRIST IN THEIR NEW

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AND K ARA JOINES, GOING THEY GREW UP WASN’T GOD HAD MUCH BIGGER THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIFE-GIVING CHURCH.

When Josh and Kara Joines felt the call in January 2013 to plant a church, their first order of business was to get the agreement of their pastoral overseers, Jim and Tamara Graff of Faith Family Church in Victoria, Texas, where the couple was on staff. When the couple got the green light to start preparing to plant, their next prayer became, “Lord, send us a Macedonian man.” They found one 30,000 feet above sea level.

In this Q&A interview spotlighting the couple, they share their journey toward planting Faith Family Church in their hometown of Baytown, Texas. Josh and Kara launched Faith Family Baytown in September 2014 and talk about what it feels like to go back to the place they grew up, their first three years as a new plant, and the lessons they learned along the way.

HOW DID YOUR JOURNE Y TOWA RD CHURCH PL ANTING BEGIN?

“The health of our church flows out of the health of who we are, the health of our marriage. It all flows from our inner health.”

– JOSH

J O S H : I was a young guy with a lot of ambition. I worked on staff at several churches, and I thought I was ready to plant before I really was. Through a few conversations with my pastor and some other leaders in my life, I came to a place where I was okay with just being at Faith Family Church in Victoria probably the rest of my life. When I came to that point, that’s when God kind of started messing with me. It just wouldn’t go away. I kept coming back to church planting.

When we got ready to talk seriously to our pastors about it, I just knew ARC was the direction we wanted to go. We had a great open relationship with our pastors, so it wasn’t anything I was trying to keep behind the scenes. I wanted to be up front about it and really get their blessing, get their insight on it, their wisdom.

On May 7, 2013, Josh and Kara discussed with their pastors their desire to plant a new church. The pastors agreed the couple could begin taking steps toward planting. Now that they could move forward, the question was, “Where?”

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“We knew how we were leaving was really going to determine how we started the next season.”

– JOSH –

J O S H : I was praying. We had some cities we were thinking of, places that were attractive to us, places we’d want to live, beautiful places. Our hometown really wasn’t on the top of that list, to be honest. Baytown is an industrial city. It’s a petro-chemical town, a blue-collar city. We were both raised here in the area, went to school here, and our families are here. We just didn’t know if we wanted to live here again.

There was something about our hometown that kind of kept drawing me back to it, but it was one of those things where I wasn’t too crazy about that. I was like, “Well, I’m not sure why I’m thinking that.”

One Sunday, we were home on vacation, and I said, “Kara, you just rest. I’m going to go look at three different churches today.” I wasn’t telling her why I was doing it, but I was praying I’d find a life-giving church that would reach the kind of people that I went to high school with, my friends, my family. I thank God for the churches in our city, but I was looking for the kind of church God had put in our heart, an ARC-type church. I didn’t find it.

TALK ABOUT FINDING YOUR “MACEDONIAN M A N ” ( R E F E R E N C I N G A C T S 16 : 9 -10 WHERE PAUL RECEIVES A VISION OF A MAN FROM MACEDONIA PLE ADING WITH HIM TO COME HELP THEM) .

I wanted our location made very clear. A few months after our trip home, Kara and I were on a plane, going to Cancun for a getaway. To make a long story short, the guy next to us on the plane started getting real talkative, asking us what we do. Then he started really talking about church and saying, “Man, I wish there was a church where I live that I could go to.” That caught my attention because my radar was up. I said, “Tell me about where you live.” He told me he lived on the east side of Baytown—our hometown—and the kind of church he was describing was a life-giving church that he wanted to be a part of. He was asking God for that. At that moment, I just kind of came to terms with it.

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YOU W ERE ON S TA FF AT FA I T H F A M I L Y I N V I C T O R I A F O R 10 Y E A R S BEFORE YOU PL ANTED. HOW DID YOU APPROACH YOUR PASTORS, AND WHAT DID YOUR E XIT LOOK LIK E? K A R A : We gave them plenty of runway. Because of our level at the church, we couldn’t just say, “Okay, in two months, we’re out.” So, we asked them, “Hey, this is what’s in our heart. What do you all need from us to make the transition?”

That way, they could find replacements and we’d have time to train them. Our heart has always been to be the kind of staff that we wanted one day, so we were just committed to leaving right and staying connected. We wanted to make sure that we were not checked out. Sometimes church planters check out of the church they’re currently serving too early.

J O S H : We really designed the process with them and allowed them to speak into that. After all they had done for us—bringing us on when we were young, treating us well, compensating us well, training us well—we wanted to honor them. Honor calls for us to treat the leaders that God’s placed in our life with the utmost respect and care because of all they’ve done for us. We knew how we were leaving was really going to determine how we started the next season.

We wanted to leave and honor well on our way out.

YOU HAD E ARLIER CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR PAS TOR WHERE HE TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NO T R E A DY T O P L A N T Y E T. I S T H AT RIGH T ?

J O S H : My pastor is so kind, I don’t know if he would have come out and said it that directly, but I think he definitely led me to believe that. He just asked me if I’d be willing to stay and continue to develop, because there were some things I probably still needed inside of me. Maturity starts calling you to see things as they really are, not as you hope they’ll be.

So, you’re like, “Okay, I need to season up a little bit. I’m not quite ready.”

I think it was a proving season for me, and God was solidifying some things inside me that I needed, so that the foundation I built on would be secure and strong. The health of our church flows out of the health of who we are, the health of our marriage. It all flows from our inner health.

HOW DID ARC PREPARE YOU FOR PL ANTING? J O S H : We knew exactly what we wanted to do. We had no idea how to start a church. We were not in close relationship with people that had done that. So you just really don’t even know where to start, where to begin, what that looks like.

When I heard early on that ARC’s success rate was as high as it was, and the amount of churches they had planted at that point, it didn’t take me long to realize that was a winning playbook I needed to get my hands on. We went to Birmingham to an ARC Intensive, looking for a playbook. We got that, but what we also found is a family we needed. So I would say ARC prepared us with resources that were proven, and then they also offered to us the relationships that we needed to be able to enjoy the journey and to make it through.

TELL US WHAT YOU DID TO PREPARE IN THE PL ANTING SE ASON LE ADING UP TO YOUR L A UNCH A N D HO W L A UNCH S UN D AY W E N T.

The Journey HOMETOWN Baytown, Texas PARENT S TO sons Tyler, 11, and Caleb, 13

MIS SION : To lead people into a growing relationship with Christ.

J O S H : The year before we launched, we came back for football games. We were showing up at community events, seeing old friends. We started having what we called inter-socials, which were our pre-launch meetings and gatherings.

Honestly, I probably started those a little too soon [11 months before the launch]. I wish I had waited three or four more months before I started the inter-socials because it was hard to steward the momentum and manage expectations well. If you start gathering people too soon, it can work against you as you approach. It’s almost like things start fizzling out, or people get impatient if it’s almost a year before you have your first service.

VISION : A church where every person can grow to know God, find freedom, discover purpose and make a difference.

K A R A : Also, Josh has always said that the health of our church will come out of the health of our marriage, so our relationship with God was the top thing we had to focus on, and just make sure that we were strong there. You can run at a fast pace obviously, especially at the beginning when you’re just trying to get things off the ground. So we just really communicated well and talked to other church planters to help us anticipate what was up ahead for us, personally. We had to be really intentional and very focused on making and keeping our marriage strong.

M AY 7, 2 0 13 : The Joines share God’s call with Senior Pastor, Jim Graff.

J O S H : I think it’s easy to make the church and getting it off the ground the focus in that season. But you’ve got to focus on staying grounded at home, in relationship with your

J A N U A R Y 2 0 13 : Josh and Kara sense God calling them to plant a church.

O C T O B E R 2 0 13 : Josh and Kara attend an ARC Intensive and assessment.

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 14 : Faith Family Baytown holds its first service.

Currently holding three weekend services each Sunday.

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spouse and your kids. Doing fun things with your kids is also important. They can get the leftovers if you’re not mindful.

You’ve got to include them in the journey, I would say. Because we were making road trips from Victoria to Baytown all the time, we tried to make it fun with ice cream stops and rewards as much as we could.

People would bless us with gift cards and things such as that from time to time. And Kara would always remind the kids, “Hey, isn’t it cool that God’s letting us be a part of these people’s lives, that they love us, and they want to do nice things?” So our kids never saw the church family like the antagonists, or the people getting the best of mom and dad.

The couple’s biggest pre-launch test was finding a home for the new church. Four locations fell through, and Josh, frustrated and confused, began questioning whether God was truly calling him to plant.

J O S H : Then we came to the largest high school. I was just starting to think, Who’s the principal of this school? Maybe I could find some favor. Is there a relationship connection to this person? I saw who the principal was, and I recognized the last name.

I contacted a guy I knew with the same last name, and he said, “That just so happens to be my brother.” I said, “Well, ask him if he’d be willing to talk me.” He said, “Sure, he’d be glad to meet with you.” So I met with the principal of this high school, the largest one in the city, which I thought was too big for us. I asked him, “Would you be willing to allow us to use the school for our church?” He said, “I’ve been praying for you. I’ve heard about your church coming to town. I’ve had people on your launch team invite me to come to your pre-launch meetings. Let me just walk you through the school. You all can use this room.” He started opening all the doors.

Now the Joines had a location, but the auditorium held more than a thousand, much larger than the ARC-recommended size for a new church. However, since their first four efforts fell through and this high school principal seemed already connected to their launch efforts, Josh agreed.

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“ We had to be really intentional and very focused on making and keeping our marriage strong.”

– KARA

J O S H : I’m sitting there looking at an almost 1,200-seat auditorium, thinking I’m crazy for agreeing to meet here. We knew that high schools were the best place to meet because of their parking lots and a location that’s easy to find. That’s what ARC kept telling us. We were kind of shying away from that, in the sense that we were concerned about the size. Now the cool thing is that there are 700 or 800 seats on the floor, and about 400 in a balcony. I was like, “Well, even though there’s 400 seats up there, nobody can really see them. We’ll use the floor and cover the rest of the seats on the sides.”

J O S H : I was raised in church but did not really live it for years. There was some regret attached to that, and I thought, Man, some of these people are going to think I’m a hypocrite, coming back as a pastor. They already think that about the church in general anyway. And then they’re going to see me coming back and maybe think the same thing.” But I think some people found it endearing that I’d want to come back to our city.

Also, having family, the relational connections we were able to establish with people that loved us, that was something pretty important.

K A R A : One thing that helped me in our journey was keeping a prayer notebook, where I wrote about the different things that God did, just as a reminder. When you’re facing different challenges, going back to everything He’s already done reminds you that He has been faithful and will be faithful in this current challenge.

Now that Faith Family Church of Baytown is established, Josh and Kara want to pass on the ARC principles they put into play by training leaders and coaching future planters.

J O S H : We wondered if we could get a couple hundred people there for the launch, and 600 showed up. Actually, 603 people came on our first Sunday, and we’ve never stopped growing. That was a big challenge, but also a huge blessing and a reminder from God that He was working behind the scenes the whole time.

WHAT IS IT LIK E TO BE BACK IN THE TOWN WHERE YOU GREW UP? DO YOU T HINK IT ’S E A SIER OR MORE DIFFICULT TO PL ANT WHERE YOUR ROOTS ARE? J O S H : After that plane ride [where they met the Macedonian man], we started thinking, “We’ll go back to our families, we’ll go back to our reputations, and we’ll go back to our friends. We have family members trying to rebuild their lives after divorces, we’ve had family members trying to overcome addictions, friends trying to discover their purpose in life, and it just got real personal for us. We felt the weight of it and the responsibility to make it happen. It had been 17 or 18 years since I’d lived here. Now my boys go to the same school I went to. I can walk out the front door of my house and see the football stadium I played in. It’s come full circle. I never would have imagined my life would play out like this.

K A R A : We laughed a little bit when we first decided to come back and thought, Okay, was I good in high school? If anything, us coming back shows God’s grace and His redemptive power in the way that He can take someone’s life and just do what only He can do. Josh laughs because people he partied with [before ministry] are now at our church. It just shows God’s grace and what He can do, and how He can forgive and rebuild your life. It’s been a good thing on that front for sure.

J O S H : I’ve had the privilege and honor of coaching for about a year or two now. I always want to be the kind of pastor like my pastor in Victoria. He never made me feel like he owned me, but that he was a supporting voice and a father to help me get started right. Just like we father our own children to get them prepared for life, I want to be that kind of pastor.

We haven’t sent anyone out as of yet. That’s something we long to do, and we can’t wait until that day happens. In the meantime, we feel like we are sending, in a sense, because we partner financially with ARC to plant churches. We celebrate that with our church family, and we talk to them on a regular basis: “Hey, we’re part of other church plants like this one that are happening all over America today,” so on launch Sundays that ARC celebrates, we show the pictures of the planters on our screen, and then people know we’re a part of that. We’re praying for people. We’re financially supporting them. We’re coaching them at times. So, ARC has given us that vision of planting life-giving churches in every community of the world.

Faith Family Baytown recently acquired 28 acres of property and will begin construction on a 50,000-square-foot building in early 2018.

J O S H : The facility will be our church, so we’ll be free from those limitations of portable church, and we’ll be able to offer more to the community. Of course, we’ll be doing things there on Sundays, and then it will be a hub of outreach for the community, too. We’re all about serving and Serve Day and growing the Kingdom of God ultimately. We’re just thankful that we get to even have this conversation about a building at this point. I know that’s not everybody’s story, and I don’t want to assume that it should be. But we know it’s because of God and the relationships he brought to us through ARC that’s made this possible. God has exceeded everything that we’ve ever asked Him for, and I know it’s because of ARC. There’s no greater church-planting organization in the world as far as I’m concerned.

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Creating a Sending Culture in Your Church ARC PASTORS SHARE WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME A CHURCH THAT PUTS GOD’S KINGDOM FIRST

by Natalie Gillespie

your own church takes an enormous amount of time, energy, resources, and fortitude. Once your church is healthy and growing, why send some of your best resources out to reproduce? Yet it is what Jesus has called his Church to do.

PLANTING AND GROWING

“Again Jesus said to them, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.’” (John 20:21) A sending mindset is vital to reaching people desperately in need of Jesus’ life-giving message.

In this leadership panel, lead/senior pastors Brandon Barber of Elevate People in Houston (launched 2012), Paul Andrew of Liberty Church in Brooklyn (launched 2010), and Michael Fletcher of Manna Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina (he became senior pastor in 1985), share why and how they’ve become a sending church, what they’ve done to navigate the inevitable tensions, and how God’s hand has moved in unfathomable ways as they committed to being a church that builds God’s Church.

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WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR LE ADERS TO DEVELOP A SENDING CULT URE IN T HEIR CHURCH ?

M I C H A E L : Number one, it’s the biblical model—the New Testament model. Number two, I think sending gives us credibility. We talk about lives changed and extending the Kingdom, but until you develop a culture where you actually start to do it, we don’t really show we believe in it.

When you start to do it and you hear reports that it’s actually working, it becomes a no-brainer. If you develop a sending culture, your church feels like, “I’m a part of a church making a difference.

I’m a part of something that is changing the world.” But you have to flip the script. Sadly, the natural thing to do is say, “I want all you people to discover your gifts so I can fulfill my vision.”

But the New Testament vision is, “I want you to develop your gifts so you can fulfill your vision” and then realize that some may be called to do something different. One is a hold mentality; the other is a release mentality.

B R A N D O N : It may sound super spiritual but when we get to Heaven, we won’t be asked how many were in the seats or how big an auditorium we built.

We will be asked how many came to Jesus. That only happens if we launch more churches and send more on missions. There’s no greater commission than raising up people to go. Someone sent you out, and you send them out. I love it. If it means planting a church on every corner, let’s do it. That's what Jesus did. He trained those guys [disciples] and sent them out.

P A U L : Typically, leaders are better at having people be with them than sending or releasing them.

We’re better at training than releasing. If we create a sending culture, make it part of our mission, vision, and the language of the way we do church, it helps overcome a lot of obstacles a planter could feel over bringing up the idea in the first place.

It might not be put into words, but at times there’s a distinct impression that if you do anything else, go anywhere else, you’re being disloyal. We need to break out of that perception so people don’t have to be forced to choose between honoring their relationship with us and doing what God has called them to do—whether that’s start a church of their own or an extension of your house. Leave the door open. It’s an interesting dance. When you create a church-planting culture in your church, there’s a degree in which you create the right soil and environment for people to dream. Frankly, I don't think we send as many people as God is calling us to send out and build His Church.

WHAT ARE THE FIRS T S TEPS TO ES TA BLISHING A SENDING CULT URE? P A U L : Early on in the life of our church, sending was giving to other church plants. We’ve given tons of money directly to churches. We had a strong sense right from the beginning, even while we were planting Liberty, that we would be a family of church communities in New York. The vision that resonated with us was to create family, community, and neighborhood churches.

“There’s no greater commission than raising up people to go. Someone sent you out, and you send them out.”

–BRANDON BARBER ARCCHURCHES.COM

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New York City is like a city of cities; each neighborhood has its own culture, and there are nuances to ministry in different places.

Church is not “gather in a place and go home.” We wanted more of a sense of doing life together. We planted two churches in our first year. I’m not necessarily advising people to do that, but it’s what we felt we should do. We created momentum and precedent. It was our vision to create a culture of permission in our language right from the beginning.

M I C H A E L : The key to the whole thing is—and it doesn't sound like it fits, but I’m telling you it absolutely fits—you have to develop a leadership culture. First, you have to train leaders and train on two levels. Train people in the local church to function within the church, and train those with some sense of vocational call to ministry. Train, develop, and disciple those people.

And you can’t depend on some other system; you can’t buy them from some other church.

Create your own leadership development.

We now have a full-time accredited Bible college that offers an undergraduate degree and two master’s degrees. We didn’t start there. We started by discipling, training, and raising up people in the local church.

When I write 120 checks for churches that we’ve helped start, and 113 of those people were raised up inside the house, that creates what we call an “upward draft.”

B R A N D O N : We constantly keep “sending” in our language from the stage down to everyone on our serving team to our small groups.

We make it known that there are lots of great churches in this city, but we need more. The quickest route towards leadership and empowerment is from the growth track, then from that to the leadership program we offer. Out of that, you really discover people’s gifts and heartbeat so you can develop them.

When that empowering culture starts to rise up in your church, it’s very attractive. You can empower people without the worry of them stealing or taking something. It has to be communicated from the pulpit that this is a safe place to come and serve, and then go where God has called you to do what He called you to do.

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PAUL & ANDI ANDRE W

Liberty Church NEW YORK, NEW YORK Paul Andrew and his wife, Andi, served on staff at a church in Paul’s hometown of Sydney, Australia, when Andi had a vivid dream one night: The couple was riding home from church on a subway in Manhattan with their three kids. Four years after the dream, the couple visited New York City and sensed God clearly telling them to plant in the Big Apple. In 2010, Paul and Andi moved to New York to plant Liberty Church, which launched in Brooklyn in January 2011 and in Union Square a few months later.

“It didn’t seem to make sense,” Paul said. “We moved across the world, out of our own pocket, to the most expensive city to live in during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And we only knew two people in New York. But we knew we were called to be an influence in the city that influences the world. It fits us well, and there is a great need here.”

Since 2011, the church has planted extensions in other locations in New York City, including downtown and the Upper West Side. They also planted extensions in San Francisco and Manzini, Swaziland and have three more plants in the works for the next six months, including Saint Petersburg, Florida, and Bay Ridge in New York City. The Andrews have also helped other planters launch new churches that are not direct extensions of Liberty Church.

“We have ‘20/20’ vision,” Paul says. “We moved in 2010 and said we would have 10 communities in 10 years, by the year 2020. Over the last year, I’ve felt the Holy Spirit challenge me: Am I building His Kingdom or my empire? It’s easy for the two to look the same. As a pastor, it looks like everything you’re doing is for the Kingdom. At the end of the day, if we have a real Kingdom mindset, God can trust us with more. I don't think I’ve mastered it, but I just want to be a Kingdom guy. I just want to hear, ‘Well done.’”

HOW DO YOU N AVIG AT E T HE T ENSIONS OF PL A N T ERS S TAYING IN CLOSE PROXIMIT Y TO THE SENDING CHURCH ; TAKING V A L U A B L E S T A F F, L E A D E R S , A N D B I G GIV ERS ; AND RESOURCING THE PL ANTING CHURCH WITHOUT HURTING YOUR OWN? M I C H A E L : You make sure you’re always identifying potential leaders and training them. Here’s a guy you’ve known in a local small group, and at some point, he gets a call - a sense for vocational ministry. He then enters the growth track in your church, and then goes into full-time ministry and takes some people with him. When they go, they leave holes.

You fill those holes by raising others to the next level. If you have a healthy supply of fresh, newly trained, and maturing leaders, you can do this forever. Otherwise, you’re saying, “I don’t have anybody to fill those places, and I don’t have anybody to send.” I don’t want to sound mean-spirited, but whose fault is that? Did God never send you people to develop? He sent you people, but the problem may be that you thought He sent you people to build your church. He sent people to build His church.

That means your people may stay with you; it may mean they go somewhere else.

We also heavily fund our church plants. We help them build a three-year budget and send them with a launch team or help them build one. We use the ARC process; we’re deeply committed to it. It works. Once we know someone is going to be sent out, we also segregate the tithe. If people want to give to that team, we ask them to make our their check to that team and we keep it separate. That way, we start weaning ourselves from that. There is no way around it; you have to spend some money.

It’s about trust. Life is scary, and I think pastors sometimes get afraid. What if I give away my best person and our money? My challenge would be, “Who said he was your person?” Jesus said they’re His sheep. It’s His church. You or I didn't die for them. They’re not yours.

They were bought with a price. Let go of people. Let go of money. When you do, that’s the great adventure!

P A U L : I think one of the best things you can do is take the time now to prepare the groundwork to be a sending church. A couple of years ago, I thought I heard the Lord speak clearly about 2017. It was New Year’s Eve 2015, and He told me we were going to plant four communities in 2017. That was not on our radar, but we started to get ready. We spent 2016 as a staff talking a lot about it. God didn’t tell us we had to plant, but we prepared our staff and our board. We talked about what

“When you create a churchplanting culture in your church, there’s a degree in which you create the right soil and environment for people to dream.”

–PAUL ANDREW

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that looks like in terms of financial loss and training leaders. We had honest conversations about our church and looked at what parts of our church were personality-driven, what systems weren’t ready to do more.

There are a lot of practical things churches can do to get ready. That can look like vision, language, and culture shifts. Use the ARC process. I love what Pastor Kelly of the Wave Church in Virginia Beach says: “You can give from a position of strength without giving away your strength, without killing the momentum of your own church.”

BRANDON & KRISTEN BARBER

Elevate People HOUSTON, TEX AS

“We talk about lives changed and extending the Kingdom, but until you develop a culture where you actually start to do it, we don’t really show we believe in it.”

–MICHAEL FLETCHER 30

SEPTEMBER 2017

“I was introduced to ARC in a life-giving church when I was in college,” Brandon says. “I was in a place where I didn’t really like the local church and felt hurt by it. In that church, I thought, I could give my life to this.”

After college, God called Brandon to work under his dad at Mike Barber Ministries, and Brandon developed a real love for the lost. After ex-convicts began calling him saying they couldn’t find a church that would accept them, Brandon knew he wanted to plant a church.

“Prison ministry will teach you how to have the heart of a pastor and love people right where they are,” he says. “It also taught me to trust God to bring you what you need because you can try to pass an offering plate in prison but it don’t [sic] work too well.”

After seven years under his father, Brandon couldn’t shake the call to plant. He hadn’t told his dad, because he knew his dad was planning for him to take over Mike Barber Ministries.

Instead, he chose a 40-day liquid fast, praying God would help him honor his father.

“On day 39 of this fast, we were sitting in a hotel in downtown Ft. Worth, and the Lord told me, ‘Talk to him now,’” Brandon remembers. “I said, ‘Dad’ … and he said, ‘Son, God’s already talked to me. You are going to start a church. You’ll still be the face of this ministry and somebody else will run it.’ So it was an equal decision for both of us, and we were able to start working on a healthy transition.”

Elevate People launched on October 7, 2012, in innercity downtown Houston with 257 in attendance. The church dropped to about 120 and has since expanded to 375 to 400 weekly. Elevate has planted three churches and has dreams to plant as many as God develops in the house.

“Out of 160,000 men, women, and youth in Texas prisons, 25 percent of those come from the Houston area. For every soul [in prison], there’s a family,” Brandon says. “We are in a rough community trying to be a bridge where race and money don’t divide us. We knew it would be hard, and we’re so thankful for ARC and all they’ve done to help us grow.”

B R A N D O N : That’s where you trust that it is God’s Kingdom, and He’s going to build it. I remember preaching one Sunday when I said, “Hey, we’re going to plant a church 15 minutes away. If your heart connects more there than it does here, you need to go there.” We’d rather reach our city together. That’s Union Houston, and Pastors Rod and Sara Vargas are doing incredible things to reach our city. We made a decision to show unity and to do this right. A couple months ago, we did a cool pulpit swap, where I preached at the Vargas’ church and Rod preached at ours. We did have some of our church go and follow him—and we’re still here.

IN HIN D S IGH T, W H AT W OU L D Y OU DO DIF F E R E N T LY IN T H E E A R LY Y E A R S OF BECOMING A SENDING CHURCH?

“ It has to be communicated from the pulpit that this is a safe place to come and serve, and then go where God has called you to do what He called you to do.”

–BRANDON BARBER

B R A N D O N : We have had three plants from our church. One did it wrong, and two did it right. I learned a lot from the one that went wrong. We had a lack of communication and lack of honor. I learned that empowerment without honor will birth double vision in your church, which will lead to division. When I felt like honor was being lost, I should have had more healthy conversations to see if we could bring back honor. Instead, I continued to train and empower without honor, and it hurt the church. I would say to sending leaders and planters, “Have more conversations upfront and keep having conversations during the process. Make sure honor is there.”

M I C H A E L : I’d start earlier and be more consistent­—plant smarter. We started our first church in 1988, second in 1989 and in the 1990s planted 33 churches in Romania after the Iron Curtain came down. At the same time, we were planting churches in Sri Lanka and other places.

We’re over 100 churches now. We didn’t have the ARC process then, and it was tough. We planted churches in fits and starts in the beginning. Of course, now we’re in a more deliberate posture. With ARC, there’s a 93 percent success rate. If a young couple is called to pastor a church, I’d also say, “Do not pass ‘Go.’ Do not collect 200 hundred dollars. Go straight to ARC.”

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P A U L : I would pray even more. I think being a planter heightens my awareness of the needs around me. I pray more now. When you have churches planted in different cities, by virtue of geography it limits some of the physical or tangible things you can do.

I can’t just drop by. That causes me to rely more heavily on prayer. The Holy Spirit has been teaching me a lot about that. At the beginning of this year when I did a 21-day fast, I had this brief fleeting thought when I was fasting and praying but my energy was low and I was in a fog. I thought, Man, I’m not getting anything done. The Holy Spirit reassured me, You’re getting more done in the spiritual and less done in the natural. Which do you think has the most impact? I quickly realized part of the journey I’m still on is learning to lean more heavily on my role in the spiritual.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL LE ADERS WHO M AY BE NERVOUS OR A PPREHENSIV E ABOUT PL ANTING MORE CHURCHES? M I C H A E L : Don’t miss it! I’ll tell you a quick story: As I said, we’ve planted about 100 churches worldwide. Planting is in our blood. The second church we planted, God made a point to me. It never happened before and has never happened since. The day the planters were leaving, we had 439 people in attendance. We called them up, prayed over them, and sent them out. Sixty-five people in our church left that day. Sixty-five! The next Sunday, we had 439 people in church.

I think God was trying to tell us, All that stuff you worry about, you don’t have to. You do your job, and I’ll do mine. After that, we never looked back. I can tell you from personal experience, God will move Heaven and hell to take care of a church whose passion is to advance the Kingdom.

P A U L : It never feels like a good time to get out of the boat and walk on water. It never feels like you’re ready. You can always say, “There’s still more to do in our church first.”

You can tell yourself that ‘til the day you die, and “Amen” to all that, but that’s not the whole dichotomy. You can either strengthen your own church or leave the sand for a bigger vision and a bigger playing field for the Kingdom.

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MICHAEL & L AUR A FLETCHER

Manna Church FAY E T T E V IL L E, NOR T H CA ROLIN A Michael came to Manna Church as senior pastor in 1985 and has overseen its growth from 350 members then to 8,600 members today. Manna is located near Ft. Bragg, and one vision of the church is to open a life-giving church near every U.S. military base in the world.

“I was not the founding pastor of this church, and I remember the pastor before me always preached, ‘One day, we’ll plant churches.’ When I became senior pastor, I read an article about a pastor at a Baptist church, and on a Friday he felt like they should start a church. He found a property on Saturday, told the church on Sunday, and it was planted within a week. That’s not necessarily the smartest way, but he has now planted twelve churches. That changed my prayers and was the beginning of our church-planting venture.

“Now that’s what I think about every day: Lord, who are you developing in the house? I have four running lists of people at four levels in their development. Our lead team meets every week, and the bulk of our discussions are, ‘Where are these people in their development and how can we help them move from one station to another?’”

Manna Church has planted more than 100 churches since 1985 and supports missions in 43 countries.

“We’re about 70 percent military, and we lose about a thousand people a year due to transfer,” Michael said. “Many ask if there is a Manna Church in wherever they’re going, so we plant one there so they can go from us to us. We’ve already seen the benefits of planting microsites, smaller groups in the home. We have them in Afghanistan, in Iraq. The thing that gets me most excited is developing people, especially leaders. I live for that.”

“God will move Heaven and hell to take care of a church whose passion is to advance the Kingdom.”

–MICHAEL FLETCHER

Every time we plant, it’s a little scary, and it’s bittersweet. There is the fear aspect, but also the love aspect. Hopefully, if I’ve really built a team, these are people I love. When I send them, it hurts.

We sent people to San Francisco who had three kids the same ages as my kids. They are some of our closest friends. We are Kingdom expanding, but acknowledging, this hurts. And it’s appropriate that it hurts. I think it tests what your vision is. When you plant from your church, there is some sacrifice involved—people, money, people who were giving to you who are now giving to that new work. It all comes back to: Have you resolved this in your heart? Have you counted the costs? If you count early on, it settles the issue and you don't have to recount every time.

B R A N D O N : My dad [former NFL player Mike Barber, founder of the prison ministry Mike Barber Ministries] always said, “Son, live to be a 95 percent Christian.” I was like, “What do you mean? I want to be 100 percent!” Dad explained that sadly, 95 percent of us believe the same things, but we let the five percent differences get in the way. I was raised in sports, where it’s all about the team. There can’t be competition.

Anytime God gives someone in your church the opportunity to go out and do something bigger and better, then you give them every opportunity to do that.

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Waiting for ‘Yes’

By Natalie Gillespie

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PASTORS JOE AND SUZANNAH DRIVER SHARE HOW THEIR SEASON OF WAITING TO PL ANT AN ARC CHURCH WAS THE “GAME CHANGER” IN THEIR LIVES AND THEIR EVENTUAL LAUNCH.

by God to plant a church, but wise counsel says it’s not time yet, what do you do? How do you spend that time wisely? What do you do to keep your momentum when it’s so hard to wait?

Pastor Joe Driver of the newly planted (January 2017) Echo Life Church in Pensacola, Florida, waited years to see his passion to be a church planter fulfilled. First, he waited for his wife, Suzannah, to receive the call to plant. Then, when the couple began the ARC process, Joe discovered he’d need to wait some more.

“One week after we got married, Suzannah and I packed up and moved to Kentucky to go to seminary,” Joe says.

“We’ve always done ministry together. We were on staff together in several churches, even while we were in seminary.

Every time we’ve been on staff at a church, we talked about what it would look like to plant. But every time we talked, it would make Suzannah fairly nervous.”

The couple felt during their seminary years they were being called to the Florida Panhandle. Once they graduated, they moved to Florida and took positions at a local church.

Still, Joe could not shake the dream of planting a church of their own. Suzannah admits as a young wife and then as a new mother, planting seemed a little too scary.

“Joe had been talking about planting ever since we got married eight years ago, and I said ‘no,’ because we were comfortable and had steady jobs,” Suzannah remembers.

“Why would we give up the known for the unknown?”

IF YOU KNOW YOU’RE CALLED

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Suzannah says Joe was “gentle” and “respectful” of her feelings, never getting frustrated but praying behind the scenes and asking her to pray as well.

“Joe was so honoring to me. He was never pushy, but we really started praying about it and bringing it up more. One day in 2015, it was like a switch flipped. I told him, ‘This absolutely freaks me out, but if this is God’s will I’d rather say ‘yes’ and be uncomfortable than say ‘no’ and be comfortable.’ I couldn’t believe the words were coming out of my mouth.

It was like I couldn’t get them back in.

It was absolutely a God moment.”

“I could have climbed a mountain

that afternoon I was so excited,” Joe says. “A spouse can validate a calling like no one else can. It's a team game.”

TAKING RISKS The couple began to research church planting and found ARC. They “fell in love” with the mission and values of ARC and began to look into doing an ARC assessment. But there were some obstacles standing in the way.

The Drivers were on staff at a mainline denominational church. Wanting to honor their positions and senior pastor, the couple talked to their church and explained their call to launch a

new kind of church in a neighboring community.

It did not go well.

“We were let go on the spot,” Joe says. “No severance, no insurance, no pension. Everything was gone in a moment because we said we were interested in planting outside the denomination.”

Looking back on that moment, both Joe and Suzannah agree that what seemed so hard was one of the best things that happened to them.

“People don’t take risks when they’re comfortable, and we were always comfortable,” Joe said.

The Drivers made the decision to move forward with their dream,

Wisdom for the Waiting When Joe and Suzannah Driver were asked by their ARC assessment team to wait six additional months before they planted Echo Life Church, the season of waiting was invaluable to their launch.

Here are a few things they advise other potential planters to do in their season of waiting: L E A N I N T O T H E P R O C E S S . “Lean into their rec-

ommendations; lean into the process. You only get one prelaunch season, and it goes by fast.

Remember the verse in Zechariah 4:10 and remind yourself that, ‘God does not despise small beginnings.’ Try, in that moment, to cherish it.”

L E A R N E V E R Y T H I N G Y O U C A N . “Visit a lot of

churches, listen, and keep learning. Be a student of your area too. Get to know the heart of the people in your area, know the concerns of the city. Be a student and also learn about yourself.”

D O N ’ T G O I T A L O N E . “If you’re under ARC, don’t

be afraid to say you don’t have it all figured out. We need this parental organization, this leadership, to help us out. You think you’re ready, think you’re excited, want to do it now, but listen to them.

Don't do it alone.”

G E T T O K N O W Y O U R C I T Y . “We spent a lot of

time finding out where the people are and then going where the events were happening. We would set up a booth and just hear their hearts and their hurts. From there, we started pursuing what God has for this city.”

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ASK YOURSELF WHO IS SAYING ‘ YES’ IN YOUR L I F E . “Your spouse needs to be saying ‘yes,’ people

who know you really well, people you know have your back and have your heart.”

“We became really intentional to set up people around us who had known us a long time, who knew us really well, and a lot from ARC. We made connections at every single thing we went to that was part of ARC. We wanted to set ourselves up in the greatest position possible with some of the greatest relationships. That way, if we say we think this is what the direction is, we have others to say, ‘Yes, I think that is absolutely the right way,’ or ‘No, I don’t think you’re seeing this clearly.’ Having that team was awesome for discerning God and His will.”

ASK YOURSELF: WHAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT?

“This question of planting should keep you up at night. Knowing that the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. If this vision to plant doesn't keep you up at night, gets you excited, or ignites a passion in you, maybe now is not the time to plant.”

thinking they would launch their new church in fall 2016—about six months after losing their positions.

They pressed forward with their ARC assessment in San Francisco, hoping to get the green light to get the ball rolling. Instead, ARC leaders asked them to wait.

“We had initially thought of launching in January (2017), then thought maybe we should move it up to fall (2016) because of financial reasons,” Suzannah says. “When we did our assessments, they wisely told us, 'We’re not here to assess if you’re called. We’re here to assess if you’re healthy enough to launch.’”

ARC leaders asked the Drivers to wait for two reasons: 1) to get more of ARC’s culture and DNA and 2) to be healthy and healed for their transition and to honor the church they left.

T H E N E X T- L E V E L GAME CHANGER Joe and Suzannah agree that waiting made the launch of Echo Life Church far stronger than it would have been had they jumped into the process sooner. The couple admits they were “not even close to ready” when they set their original launch date only six months out. They had no money, no team, and no real knowledge of how to plant a church. The couple dedicated themselves to spending the next six months getting prepared. They visited other church launches and new plants, spent time together as a couple, rested from ministry, put together a team, and got to know the needs of their city.

“When the pastors who were doing our assessment said, ‘We want you to have a moment to get the core values of ARC deep down, and we want you to have time to rest,’ I remember telling Joe as we left, ‘I don’t think we need a break. I think we’re good,’” Suzannah says. “At the time, Joe and I had been in ministry for 10 years without a break, and I had no idea how tired I was.

“A spouse can validate a calling like no one else can. It's a team game.”

–JOE DRIVER

“But I knew the ARC people had so much wisdom and discernment and I knew I had to trust what they were saying.”

The break gave the Drivers time to do additional training five or six months after that assessment, and God reminded Suzannah of where her heart was back then.

“Since that five or six months, our walk, our prayer life, our marriage were in the healthiest place they have ever been,” she says. “I couldn’t see our own needs at the time [when the couple was asked to wait] because I think I was so hurt and so tired.”

“I think there are times when God says to wait” Joe says, “and He just wants to see if you’ll obey. That time enabled us to grow a healthy team, and it gave us a chance to be nurtured and cared for, to focus on our own faith and family.”

As the couple followed the ARC assessors’ recommendations, the break became what the Drivers call the “game changer.”

“That season of waiting took us to the next level,” Suzannah says. “It was absolutely crucial to us being the healthiest we could possibly be. I’m so thankful, even though in the moment it felt hard.”

The wait also respected their former church.

“We said we would wait; we said we would provide distance both in time and location, and we honored that,” Joe says. “When you honor people, it’s hard for anybody to say anything against that. We were able to individually restore some relationships because there wasn't a whole lot of closure in that experience. But staying faithful will speak volumes about your faith.

At the end of the day, you’re all on the same team.”

FINANCIA L TENSION Of course, there were challenges along the way for the Drivers. With two kids and a mortgage, the Drivers faced some very real questions as they acclimated to their new city.

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“We looked at each other” Joe remembers, “and said, ‘Okay, financially how are we going to survive?’”

To take care of his family, Joe took a job loading 120-pound boxes of office paper and delivering them over an hour away.

“It rained every day,” he says, remembering the not-so-glamorous job.

“Finances were a big concern for us,” Suzannah adds. “’How are we going to take care of two kids and get ready to launch? But ultimately we decided if we were going to do what God wanted us to do, we just had to make it work. We used our savings account, sold our house, sold other things. But we never missed a meal. God is faithful.”

Joe admits there were times he felt like it wasn’t going to work.

“Our house we were trying to sell went under contract three different times and fell through. That whole spring all the way until fall, we thought, we need to sell our house, we need to get out of this. We’re practically unemployed students.

Close to Thanksgiving, the Drivers’ last contract fell through.

“I was so frustrated I went into the yard and pulled up the ‘For Sale’ sign, ready to take the house off the market. I told God, ‘Lord, I don't know what we’re going to do.’

That day, the Drivers’ realtor called, saying someone wanted to look at the house. In a few hours, they had an offer.

“I think the Lord really waited until the last moment so we would have to depend on Him,” Joe says in hindsight. “He took care of us.”

CL E A R H E A D, H E A R T, A N D V I S ION Echo Life launched on January 22 at the Bayview Senior Center in Pensacola. Some 457 people attended the launch, and the church saw 678 attend Easter Sunday services just 12 weeks after the launch.

Currently, Echo Life averages about 300 each Sunday.

By its six-month mark, the church had already sown $15,000 into local missions and held Serve Day that sent out 100 people into the local community. The church’s heart is to serve the homeless, the hungry, to end human trafficking, and to bring the life-changing message of Jesus to their city, as Joe puts it, “just to make Him known.”

“By waiting, we were able to have a clear head, clear heart, and clear vision,” he explains. “For people who want to launch with ARC and ARC tells you to wait, I would say listen to that. If you want to have authority over others one day, you’ve got to obey the authority you placed yourself under right now.”

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“Ultimately, we decided if we were going to do what God wanted us to do, we just had to make it work.”

–SUZANNAH DRIVER Suzannah says the wait also prepared her heart to fall in love with their new city.

“We went to events, set up a table, and just talked to people,” she says. “I remember other people [in ministry] always saying how much they loved their city, almost like that moment of being a brand new mom for the first time.

“I never felt that before. I prayed for a long time that the Lord would give me a love for a place like He gave other people, but I never imagined it would be such a long journey to get there. I feel that way about my city now. I love these people like my children. I would give up my life to see these people who don’t know Jesus come to know Him.”

ARC CELEBR ATES

NEW LIFE-GIVING CHURCHES COMING TO CITIES NEAR YOU

The ARC family consists of individuals and churches that believe Jesus, expressed through the local church, is the hope of the world. to launch, connect, and equip life-giving churches and their leaders around the world. We accomplish this through combining our resources together to start new churches, encourage healthy church growth, and join forces with other Kingdom-minded networks. We love nothing more than celebrating those individuals and churches highlighting their Kingdom impact. Join us in celebrating a few of our upcoming new churches and the impact they are believing for in their city.

TOGETHER, WE EXIST

ERIC & ERICA GIESOW

ADAM & S TACY MAGAĂ‘A

T R AVIS & BRIT TA N Y JONES

BRIGHTON, MICHIGAN

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA

CHES TERFIELD, VIRGINIA

Alive Family Church for our community to come "ALIVE" in Christ.

Our desire is to help the people of Livingston County know God personally and live for Him passionately.

Our prayer is to see the lost found, the sick healed, relationships restored, and the spiritual climate of our city transformed. Our heartbeat is to show that people matter and Jesus is alive.

WE ARE BELIEVING

ALIVEFAMILY.CHURCH

launching: September 24, 2017

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Active Church

to experience the life-giving power of Jesus Christ. We are believing that our church will be a place that makes it easy for people to turn to God and place their faith in Him. We are praying that thousands of people will find hope for the future and healing from their past and be released into everything that God has for them!

WE WANT PEOPLE

MYACTIVECHURCH.ORG

launching: September 17, 2017

Motivation Church

God has more for every single person in our city. It is our goal to let every person know that God has more for them and that God wants more for their lives. There are an estimated 50,000 people with a 13 miles radius that does not attend church.

Critics have written this city off as unreachable, but we firmly believe God disagrees with the critics.

WE BELIEVE THAT

MOTIVATION.CHURCH

launching: September 17, 2017

ARC CELEBRATES

CONTINUED

JESSE & ANGEL A NORMAN

PR A DEEPA N & A MREIT H A JEE VA

JASON & JENNIFER L AIRD

OMAHA, NEBRASK A

BELLE V UE, WA SHINGTON

SAN FR ANCISCO, CA LIFORNIA

My City Church

to build a church that is full of life; a church that is committed to fulfilling the great commission by living out the great commandment; a church that is committed to loving God, loving people, and leading in life. We are believing to build a church that influences our city towards Christ.

WE ARE BELIEVING

MYCITYCHURCH.CC

launching: September 17, 2017

Kalos Church

Kalos Church will make known the beauty of Jesus in the greater Seattle area. This area is called the most unchurched region in America, but we believe that this area is set up for an incredible move of God. As we make known the beauty of Jesus, we fully expect to see this region come to be known as a place with hope, healing, and divine purpose.

WE BELIEVE

K ALOS.CHURCH

launching: September 17, 2017

Sozo Church

as a beautiful and iconic city, but those that live in the city could also tell you of its brokenness. Homelessness and poverty can be found throughout the city, and The Barna Group ranks San Francisco as one of the most churchless cities in the nation. We believe a life-giving church will change these facts, one person at a time.

SAN FRANCISCO IS KNOWN

SOZO.CO

launching: September 17, 2017

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

— M AT T HE W 2 8 :19 – 2 0 NI V

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E VENT S & RESOURCES

BOOK

She is Free

BY ANDI ANDRE W We say we’re free in Christ, but many of us are still living in captivity—to fear, anger, shame, isolation, unforgiveness, and control. Compassionate and biblically based, She Is Free is an invitation to women to step fully into the love that sets them free.

OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT & GROW

EVENTS

BOOK

A P R I L 17 -18 , 2 0 18 Birmingham, Alabama

BY CHRIS HODGES

ARC Conference ARCCONFERENCE.COM

ANDIANDREW.COM

The Daniel Dilemma Christians today face a dilemma: in a world that seems to reject everything we believe, how do we walk closely with God without caving to pressure or alienating those we hope to reach?

AMAZON.COM

EVENTS

ARC Meet-Ups INS TAGR AM

@cothcreative A behind-the-scenes look at the work of the Creative Team at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama.

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SEPTEMBER 2017

You’re invited to come and be a part of an ARC Meet-Up near you!

Regardless of whether you’re an ARC planter, partner, or neither, if you want to connect, come hang with us!

ARCCHURCHES.COM

EVENTS

#NLCONF O C T O B E R 2 3 - 2 5 , 2 0 17 Fort Myers, Florida NLCONF.COM

EVENTS & RESOURCES

EVENTS

Global Conference

OUTREACH

Serve Day J U L Y 1 4 , 2 0 18

CONTINUED

EVENTS

Sticky Teams West

O C T O B E R 9 -11, 2 0 17 Dallas, Texas

Join with hundreds of other churches as we show God’s love through serving.

O C T O B E R 17 -18 , 2 0 17 San Diego, California

GLOBALMINISTRIESONLINE.COM

SERVEDAY.TODAY

NORTHCOASTTR AINING.ORG

BOOK

EVENTS

BOOK

BY MAT T FRY

J A N U A R Y 11, 2 0 18

BY RICK BEZET

Matt Fry opens your eyes to the true identity you have in Christ. You will be empowered to find Jesus and begin a new life with the power to become everything He has created you to be.

Now more than ever, our nation needs revival. We believe that all starts with prayer. So as an ARC family, we are going to be gathering in communities everywhere to pray.

AMAZON.COM

ARCCHURCHES.COM

I Am

Prayer Day

Real Love Rick Bezet calls on believers not to abandon the truth just because they don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, but also not to present that truth in angry diatribes on social media.

RICKBEZET.COM ARCCHURCHES.COM

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ABOUT ARC

THE ASSOCIATION OF RELATED CHURCHES STORY

The Story

We are an association of relational churches working with church planters and church leaders to provide support, guidance, and resources to launch and grow life-giving churches.

when six pastors met together with a heart to plant churches. Pastor Greg Surratt felt strongly that God was asking him to be part of planting 2,000 churches. The problem was that he didn’t know how to make it happen.

That’s when he met Billy Hornsby. Billy was fascinated by Greg’s “life-giving” weekend services that were attracting large numbers of unchurched people.

They referred to it as a “Spirit-filled, non-spooky way of doing church.” Billy saw this as a model that should be emulated, and with it he felt he could put “feet” to Greg’s vision of planting 2,000 churches.

There were two pastors out of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana who were heading out to plant churches: Chris Hodges in Birmingham, Alabama, and Rick Bezet in Little Rock, Arkansas. They knew they were called of God, but they didn’t have money, nor did they have a workable model for planting their churches.

So Greg Surratt offered them each $25,000 to fund their church plants, plus any monthly support they needed to meet budget during their first year.

This funding would serve as a safety net, bolstering their confidence in planting. Then, as their new church plants got on their feet financially, Greg asked Rick and Chris to invest the same amount they had received into other church planters.

Church of the Highlands in Alabama and New Life Church in Arkansas launched successfully, and they became the model for future ARC church

GREGG SURRATT PRESIDENT / ARC

ARC WAS FORMED IN 2000

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plants. By the following year, other church planters were “reusing” the money originally used for funding those first two plants. Today, that initial investment of $25,000 has been reinvested and has multiplied dramatically.

Billy’s brother, Scott Hornsby, and Dino Rizzo were pastors who had planted churches and had a heart to fuel and equip church planters—to help build a healthy model for church planting. They had done it the hard way and knew that what Greg and Billy had done with Rick and Chris was the key.

Together, Billy Hornsby, Greg Surratt, Chris Hodges, Rick Bezet, Scott Hornsby, and Dino Rizzo founded the Association of Related Churches, and now when it comes to planting churches, it is true that a church planter can either do it “the ARC way or the hard way.”

ABOUT ARC

CONTINUED

Our Legacy BILLY HORNSBY arc founder

(19 4 9 -2 0 11)

as ARC’s leader from 2001 to 2011. He had a knack for building organizations with financial strength, and he attracted other pastors and churches to become a part of the new network. He also carried an important value that became a part of ARC’s DNA: to value the little guy.

Billy saw that many church planters felt like they were “on their own.” He loved to let them know that he believed in them. For them, he became a friend who resourced them with training, funding, and ensured their strong start.

ARC’s growth in the early years was steady and solid, averaging a few churches each year. Then in 2006, ARC planted nine churches, in 2007 there were 16 more, 2008 saw 25, and by 2009, ARC was averaging around 50 new plants a year. With a more developed structure, ARC is now training and coaching hundreds of church planters each year.

On March 23, 2011, Billy went to be with the Lord after a battle with cancer. He left a great legacy of pastors, leaders, friends, and of course, his family.

At the 2012 ARC Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, the board selected Greg Surratt to take the wheel as president of ARC. Greg continues to pastor Seacoast Church in South Carolina, while providing strategic leadership and direction for ARC. Today, ARC has become not only a movement, but a collection of many “tribes” with a passion for planting churches.

BILLY HORNSBY TOOK THE HELM

THE ARC LEAD TEAM G R E G S U R R AT T / President, ARC DIN O R I Z Z O / Executive Director, ARC R IC K B E Z E T / New Life Church R A N D Y B E Z E T / Bayside Community Church NIC K & C H R I S T IN E C A IN E / Equip & Empower J O E C H A M P IO N / Celebration Church H E R B E R T C O O P E R / People’s Church M AT T F R Y / C3 Church J O H N G R AY / Lakewood Church P E T E R H A A S / Substance Church C H R I S H O D G E S / Church of the Highlands S C O T T H O R N S B Y / Fellowship Church M AT T K E L L E R / Next Level Church R O B K E T T E R L IN G / River Valley Church M I L E S M C P H E R S O N / The Rock Church T O D D M U L L IN S / Christ Fellowship Church D A L E O ’ S HIE L D S / Church of the Redeemer B E N N Y P E R E Z / The Church LV J O H N S IE B E L IN G / The Life Church P HI L IP WA G N E R / Oasis Church S T O VA L L W E E M S / Celebration Church ARCCHURCHES.COM

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